The table above is a condensed look at my relactation efforts. I started out pumping drops, as you can see, and have achieved close to 8 oz. a day this past month.
In another post, I will explain my use of prescription and herbal galactagogues and how I think they have helped my supply. I will also tell Justin's side of the story, drinking the milk and what his lab values show.
I will explain why I suspect that the domperidone is largely responsible for the amount of milk I have been able to achieve and that pumping, while important in building the supply, has not been as important in maintaining it. Otherwise, there should have been a decrease in the amount of milk I have produced as the number of pumpings in a 24 hour period have been reduced. Amazingly, the amount has staid the same, even though I started with 6-8 pumping sessions in 24 hours, and for the past 2 months, I have pumped only twice a day. Once at 6 AM and the other between 6 and 9 PM. Did I mention that I believe in miracles?
I would not recommend that mothers who are pumping to build or maintain a supply of breastmilk for their infant, use these statistics for their own situation! Except to be encouraged that if they follow the protocols I referenced in a previous blog, they should get favorable results. I prayed for 8 oz. of milk a day (don't ask me why), and that seems to be what my body is comfortable giving up. So, my results may be entirely different than someone else who follows a similar protocol. There are many factors that can influence an individual's ability to make milk. No two individuals and their circumstances are alike, so different results can and should be expected.
If you are interested in seeing my story in published form, please visit: http://www.withinreachwa.org/forprof/BCW/documents/breastfeedingwinter2006.pdf
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing your story. I am a mom of 3 and I can totally identify with what you said about how mothers never stop thinking of ways to help their children. My youngest has had 3 colds since before she was 6 months old. My husband tries to tell me not to stress out about it, but I keep wondering if there is something else I could be doing. Well, that's not why I came to your blog (I read your post on Lactnet), but it has encouraged me to trust in the Lord more. I tried to access the published article, but apparently the link has changed.
All the best,
Renata
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